


the things you say

by norgbelulah



Category: Justified
Genre: Apologies, Blow Jobs, Co-workers, Episode Tag, M/M, POV Second Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-04
Updated: 2012-03-04
Packaged: 2017-11-01 03:44:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/351610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/norgbelulah/pseuds/norgbelulah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Raylan tries to apologize.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the things you say

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers for 3.07 "The Man Behind the Curtain."

You stop him in the locker room, hesitating, forcing a contrite look onto your face. “Hey,” you say, “sorry about all that.”

He looks at you. “You’re not.”

You look away, at the lockers behind his head. You put your hands on your hips.

“You know, Raylan,” he says, when you don’t respond. “You think I’m tired of this bullshit, and really, I should be. I try to act like I am, but I’m not. Not yet. You really won’t like it when I’m fucking done with your bullshit. So, get your head on straight and start acting like a goddamn team player.”

You don’t know what you can say. There’s circumstances here you know Tim’s guessed at, but hasn’t got all the details. There’s things you can’t say, things that would reflect badly on you, no matter how carefully you put them.

“What’s Quarles got on you?” Tim’s question doesn’t surprise you.

You grind your teeth, work your jaw, but his expression of cool detachment doesn’t change. He’s waiting for an answer. You reply, “My ties in Harlan, personal bullshit. The shit with Wynn Duffy. Makes me dangerous to him. Makes me look bad too.”

“He’s tryin’ to paint you dirty?”

“Already thinks I am. Wants to out me. I have to--” You stop talking. If you finish that sentence, if it ever came down to it, Tim would have to tell a court you said those words.

Tim nods, like he gets it, but his eyes hold suspicion. The smart kind, that you can’t fault him for, but you hate it.

It tears at your insides, because no matter what you might say or think to yourself, you care what this man thinks. No matter how far your circumstances, your focus, will drive you to alienate him, you’re always going to feel shitty when he looks at you like you’re his problem and not his partner.

Your expression must have changed, because his does in reaction.

His eyes seem to soften, his mouth quirking up, like he can’t quite believe you. You’re already standing pretty close, since the room’s not real big, but he suddenly feels very close and you feel very warm. And then he takes a step forward.

“It’s ridiculous,” he says, still not quite smiling. “How hard it is to stay mad at you.”

You kiss him because it seems like the thing to do.

He kisses back, so that’s all right. He threads his fingers through your hair. You smile into his lips, because you’re glad he’s not mad. Though you know it’s only a matter of time until you mess it up again and you’ll only have so many chances to fix things, to change your ways.

You wonder if he’ll be enough to make you do that and you doubt it.

You stop thinking when you get your mouth around his cock, because you know you owe him back something. And, by the noises he’s making, he seems to like it.

You’ll give all he can take. It’s the least you can do.


End file.
